Contact: Trevor Monk, dlipress@pa.gov
Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) is reminding Pennsylvania employers that workers are entitled to payment for their time spent on mandatory pre- or post-shift screenings, per a 2021 Pennsylvania Supreme Court interpretation of the Minimum Wage Act. L&I's Bureau of Labor Law Compliance enforces the Minimum Wage Act and holds accountable employers who fail to compensate workers for their time as required by law.
L&I recently collected $88,284 from Constellation Energy Generation in York County and Constellation Nuclear Security in Montgomery County, which failed to pay 257 workers for time spent on security screenings before their shifts at two different Constellation Energy (formerly Exelon Corporation) sites. The money has been returned to the employees (both current and former) for wages owed starting in July 2021 and ending June 2023.
"Failing to pay workers for time that employers require for pre- and post-shift screenings is a form of wage theft. Even if those screenings take just a few minutes each day, those minutes add up over time to significant amounts of money that belong to workers," said L&I Secretary Nancy A. Walker. "L&I is committed to enforcing this important requirement of the Minimum Wage Act, and I encourage workers to let us know if they believe an employer is falling short of their obligations. We will investigate."
Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act
Pennsylvania's Minimum Wage Act establishes a minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for employees in Pennsylvania. The current minimum wage in Pennsylvania is $7.25 per hour, and the overtime pay rate is 1.5 times the employee's regular rate of pay. The Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act also prohibits employers from stealing tips, taking unlawful deductions from pay, interfering with L&I's enforcement, and engaging in other forms of wage theft.
The Minimum Wage Act applies to all employers in Pennsylvania with one or more employees, regardless of the size of the business. Employers who violate the Minimum Wage Act must pay all wages due and may face penalties, including attorneys' fees and costs incurred to collect unpaid wages and criminal penalties of up to $1,000 per employee per violation.
How to Submit a Complaint
The Department of Labor & Industry is committed to protecting the rights of workers in Pennsylvania. If you believe that you or someone you know has been the victim of wage theft, you can file a complaint on L&I's website using an online submission form.
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